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EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS
KEN RASKOFF
MARK GORDON
DIRECTOR
JOHN BADHAM
WRITERS
IRA LEVIN
SHELLEY EVANS
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS
KEN RASKOFF
Ken Raskoff has been trying to get FOOTSTEPS made for 14 years, since it was first pitched to him when he was a movie executive at NBC, under the legendary programming chief Brandon Tartikoff. Ken was executive producer of the CBS film "The Moving Of Sophia Myles," starring the incomparable Della Reese and Rue McClanahan (with whom Ken has made 5 pictures).
Among his career highlights, Ken has worked with some of the cinema's greatest stars including Katharine Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor and Jessica Tandy, as well as some legends-to-be, including Kevin Spacey, Brad Pitt, Keanu Reeves, Juliet Lewis, Drew Barrymore, Elijah Wood and William H. Macy. His picture "Labor Of Love," which starred Marcia Gay Harden, won the Writers Guild of America Award for best original screenplay (1998) and was also nominated by GLAAD as best picture of the year.
He is equally proud of having been artistic director for the Fort Peck Summer Theatre in Montana in 1981, as well as his numerous years on the road as a producer, actor, director, musician, gravitationally challenged dancer, scenery painter and panhandler.
Ken's undergraduate work in theatre was at UC Berkeley and he did graduate work at Boston University and Northwestern University (where his thesis production of Thornton Wilder's "The Skin Of Our Teeth" featured future CSI star Marg Helgenberger).
Despite the brutal cold of which he wasn't all that receptive, in Ken's opinion, FOOTSTEPS was about as good a time as someone can have while still getting paid. Working on a small cast picture with as wonderful a group of people as Candice Bergen, Bryan Brown, Bug Hall, John Badham and screenwriter Shelley Evans, was like camp--pure kumbaya. In the winter, though. Ken also feels a particular debt of gratitude to Ira Levin for letting him take a shot with this material; when he was 12, and too young, Ken snuck in the exit of the neighborhood theatre to see "Rosemary's Baby" (based faithfully on Levin's novel) which remains in his mind the scariest movie ever made.
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MARK GORDON
Award winning motion picture producer Mark Gordon has produced, financed and distributed over 40 motion pictures and television programs with theatrical box office revenues exceeding 2 billion dollars.
Gordon's most recent films are "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen," directed by Stephen Norrington and starring Sean Connery, and "And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself" for HBO, with Bruce Beresford directing and Antonio Banderas starring. Gordon is currently in post-production on "The Day After Tomorrow" directed by Roland Emmerich and starring Dennis Quaid and Jake Gyllenhaal.
As producer, Gordon's films include "The Patriot," directed by Roland Emmerich and starring Mel Gibson, "Saving Private Ryan," directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Hanks, "Broken Arrow," directed by John Woo and starring John Travolta, and "Speed" directed by Jan de Bont and starring Keanu Reeves in the role that catapulted him to international stardom.
As executive producer, financier and international distributor, Gordon's credits include "Tomb Raider," directed by Simon West and starring Angelina Jolie, "Wonder Boys," directed by Curtis Hanson and starring Michael Douglas, "Man on the Moon," directed by Milos Forman and starring Jim Carrey, "A Simple Plan" directed by Sam Raimi, "Primary Colors," directed by Mike Nichols and starring John Travolta, and "The Jackal" starring Bruce Willis and Richard Gere.
Gordon has also produced more than a dozen films for television. He directed "Nothing But Sun," a journey through the Holocaust as seen through the eyes of children, for which he received an Emmy nomination. "The War Between the Classes" won Gordon an Emmy for Best Children's Program.
Among Gordon's numerous industry awards are both a Golden Globe for Best Picture and a Best Picture Oscar nomination for "Saving Private Ryan." The film also received the New York, Chicago and Los Angeles Film Critic's Awards for Best Picture. Gordon has been honored with the Daryl F. Zanuck Producer of the Year Award from the Producer's Guild of America and received the Bafta Award (British Film Academy) for Best Children's Film for "Paulie: A Parrot's Tale."
Gordon serves on the boards of the Producer's Guild of America, the Virginia Film Festival, The Children's Performance Workshop and is the Vice-Chairman of Teach for America, Los Angeles. Gordon was honored with the Spirit of Chrysalis Award for his work in helping the financially disadvantaged find employment. Gordon has also served on the board of the Holocaust Documentation and Information Center and is a former member of the Motion Picture Committee of the United States Information Agency.
Gordon's first producing effort was the off-Broadway production of "The Buddy System" at Circle in the Square. He is a graduate of New York University Film School.
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DIRECTOR
JOHN BADHAM
Director John Badham has drawn critical praise and box office success during a career distinguished by its range and diversity. Badham rose to the forefront of the film world in the summer of 1983 with the release of "Blue Thunder" and "WarGames," two of the season's biggest hits and nominated for four Academy Awards. His first feature film, "The Bingo Long Travelling All-Stars and Motor Kings" (1976), teamed James Earl Jones, Billy Dee Williams and Richard Pryor. In 1978, Badham guided John Travolta to worldwide fame in "Saturday Night Fever," which went on to become one of the top grossing films of all time, and to usher in the era of disco music and fashion.
Following "Saturday Night Fever," Badham received recognition for his vivid adaptations of two Broadway plays; "Whose Life Is It Anyway?" (1981), starring Richard Dreyfuss, and the stylized "Dracula," with Frank Langella and Laurence Olivier, which swept the Grand Prizes at the Paris International Science Fiction Festival and the U.S. Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Awards. He then directed Kevin Costner in the cycling action-drama "American Flyers" (1985), followed by the delightful comedy "Short Circuit," featuring Ally Sheedy, Steve Guttenberg and the very human antics of Robot Number Five.
In 1989, Badham directed Mel Gibson and Goldie Hawn in the action/comedy "Bird On A Wire." His film "Point of No Return" (1992) propelled Bridget Fonda to stardom as a government created assassin. "Another Stakeout" (1993), reunited Richard Dreyfuss and Emilio Estevez as the pair of undercover cops from the original hit "Stakeout." In 1994, "Drop Zone" took Wesley Snipes into the high adrenaline world of skydiving to catch a group of killers. "Nick of Time" (1995) starred Johnny Depp as an ordinary father who is forced into a plot to assassinate the Governor of California when his young daughter is kidnapped.
The thriller "Incognito" (1997) starred Jason Patrick as an art forger who is framed for a murder and must prove a priceless Rembrandt is actually his own forgery to clear his name. Badham also Executive Produced the HBO film "Rebound," the inspiring story of Harlem Basketball legend Earl "The Goat" Manigault, a man whose early promise on the court was ruined by drugs, but who then rebounded to help his community's kids stay off drugs. "Floating Away" (1998), starring Paul Hogan and Roseanna Arquette, won the Prism award for its portrayal of alcohol abuse. "The Jack Bull" (1999) for HBO, starring John Cusack and John Goodman, and "The Last Debate" (2000) for Showtime, starring James Garner and Peter Gallagher, both received extensive critical acclaim. He directed Jeanne Tripplehorn in USA's"My Brother's Keeper" (2001) and showed the sexy side of Jenna Elfman, in Lifetime's "Obsessed" (2002). The episode he directed for "The Shield" starring Michael Chiklis is in consideration for this year's Emmy nominations.
John Badham was born in England, the son of actress Mary Hewitt and a U.S. Army general, who moved the family back to the U.S. when he was transferred to Alabama. Badham's sister, Mary, became the first of two siblings to break into the movie business when, at age ten, she received a 1962 Oscar nomination for her portrayal of the young protagonist in To Kill A Mockingbird.
Badham did undergraduate work at Yale in philosophy, then took a Master's Degree from the Yale School of Drama. Inspired by his sister's early Hollywood success, he moved to Los Angeles and landed a job in the mailroom at Universal Studios, where he moved up through the ranks learning casting, cutting trailers and eventually directing episodic television.
Among the series he worked on were "The Senator" (for which he received an Emmy nomination), "Night Gallery," "Kung Fu," and "The Streets of San Francisco." Badham won his second Emmy nomination for "The Law," starring Judd Hirsch. His telefeatures during the same period include "Isn't It Shocking," a black comedy starring Alan Alda, and "Reflections of Murder," based on the classic French film "Diabolique."
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WRITERS
IRA LEVIN
Ira Levin was 22 when he wrote his first novel, the award-winning thriller "A Kiss Before Dying," and 25 when, fresh from military service, he wrote his first play, the smash-hit adaptation of Mac Hyman's "No Time For Sergeants." In the years since, he has continued to work both sides of the literary street. His plays include the comedy hit "Critics's Choice," the musical "Drat! The Cat!" and the thrillers "Veronica's Room" and "Deathtrap." Among his novels are Rosemary's Baby, generally credited (or blamed) for having sparked the current revival of occultism, The Stepford Wives, and the best-sellers The Boys From Brazil and Sliver, all of which have been made into successful films. His later plays include "Footsteps" and "Cantorial," which enjoyed runs both off-Broadway and in Florida.
A native-born New Yorker, Mr. Levin is an alumnus of New York University and has three sons. In addition to his other accomplishments, he is a four-time winner (retired) of the New York Magazine Competition. Mr. Levin's "Deathtrap" garnered a 1978 Tony Award nomination for Best Play and recently was awarded a special Edgar Award by Mystery Writers of America.
Mr. Levin's most recent novel, Son Of Rosemary, was released by Dutton.
SHELLEY EVANS
Shelley Evans lives in Cambridge Massachusetts. Her first screenplay, "Lady Killer," was produced in 1992 by MCA Television Entertainment for USA Network. She has since written a number of movies for CBS, including "Beyond Betrayal" (1994), "Sins of Silence" (1995), "Sisters and Other Strangers" (1997), and "Picnic" (2000). "One Kill," produced by CBS Productions for Showtime in 2000, was nominated for an Edgar Allen Poe Award. She has also worked for Lifetime and ABC, and currently has a project in development at USA.
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